Four years ago, I took a spiritual-life inventory. I didn't like what it revealed about my passion—my lack of passion—for people who don't know Christ. Did I deeply care about people, befriend people, pray for people who (says the Bible) are "without hope and without God in the world"? Not enough for an honest assessment to detect.

I wrote in my journal, "God, change me in this area."

One answer to that prayer came unexpectedly when I met Jim Henderson, who (with his wife, Barb, and friend Dave Richards) founded www.Off-the-Map.org. Jim and his site help people who, like me, are "evangelism-challenged."

"In evangelism, you want to give people something rather than ask them for something," Jim explained. I liked that switch. It somehow altered evangelism in my mind from sales to service, which suits me better. "But what do people want?" Jim asked rhetorically. "Attention. People want attention. So I give them that. I call those times 'free attention giveaways.' " And what's more, ...